West Ham continued their continental cruise as headers from Lucas Paqueta and Nayef Aguerd secured a 2-1 win at Freiburg and a record 17th match unbeaten in Europe.
The Hammers took control of Europa League Group A with a battling display in southern Germany.
The match may have taken place on the edge of the Black Forest, but it was never going to be a piece of cake against a side eighth in the Bundesliga.
They were also up against 34,000 noisy fans, with no away supporters allowed to attend following incidents during West Ham's Europa Conference League final triumph in June.